Coupon-book.



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COUPON BOOK.

APPLICATION FILED ooT.12, 1912.

Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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.N .MJNNN urk). i @Ng k Lg suing UNITED STATES PATENT oEEicE.-

WILLIAM W. SYFERT, OF TULSA, OKLAIIOMA- COUPON-BOOK.

To all whom it may concern v -Be it known that I, IVILLIAM W. SYFERT,citizen of the United States, residing at Tulsa., in the county of Tulsaand `State of Oklahomzuhave invented certain ner and I' the provision ofa book containing series of similar coupons each redeemable in apredetermined quantity `of a articular merchandise. This book containsin addition r to the block of coupons, a sheet or pae, e

which for the sake of convenience may termed a payment slip andindicates,

when properly signed by the customer the terms of payment on `Wiich thebook was 'sold to him, that is, whether such customer has paid cash forthe coupons or has obtained the same on a credit basis. The book isfurther provided with a second sheet or page, preferably constituting aportion 'of the cover of the book, which latter page also possesses apredetermined value, such as the equivalent `of one coupon, 'and is tobe surof which the time, labor and expense us'ually vincident totheaccounting system of amercantile house employing coupons in its businessmay be greatly reduced:

In the present instance, I have shown my invention as embodied in acoupon bookdesigned especially for use by merchants `or dealers engagedinthe sale of ice, but I wish it to be understood tha'tthe invention isnot described merely by way of illustration, ask

limited in its useful'application to this vparticular :purpose which isherein shown. and

.such invention may beemplod in'any connection where-:its use may udeemed desirableiand advantageous.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb.

`The invention consists in the improved coupon book and intheconstruction, geombination and arrangement of the parts there? o'f setforth in and falling within the'-Cope of the appended claim. 5 "f "fi Inthe accompanying drawings l is a plan view showing the coupoiibook 'f inopen position and exposing the inside face of the front cover and theface vof the payment slip. Fig. 2 is a similar v'iew showing the insideface of the back cover which also forms the redemption card, one- Aoflthe coupon sheets of the bookb'eing partially turned to show the coupon.L Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the letter" Adesignates"the front cover of the coupon book, While B indicates therear' cover thereof, the 'or package of coupons being shown at C( Thesecoupons are of usual form `and need 4not be described here in detail.The inside face of` the front cover A may beprinted or stamped with anordinary form of receipt as shown atl. r

Facing the receipt on the front cover is `the page or sheet which I havetermed the 10,191.14.. Application filed October 12, 1912. Serial No.725,460. l I

paymentslip, and which forms an im-'i' portant feature of the resentinvention.L

This payment slip Whic is indicated by the letter' D' is detachablyconnected tothe coupon book by the line 'of perforations or scoring 2,and is provided preferably nea-r the upper central portion with 'a block3` printed or stam ed thereon, 'Which'block contains the num erofthecoupon book as shown at 4, such number in' thepre'sentinstancebeing 199. It will of course b e under- .f i

stood that each individuall coupon belongingto this book bears'acorresponding fnumjber. This sheet or slip is divided by the verticalline 5- into the sections flkand,l 7. The section 6in the the creditsection an is so indicated`,vvhile the section or side 7 forms the'cash,section, as shown. The creditV side is to be -usedjor the customers:signature and addressvyvhen the coupon book is purchased on .credit,\..

while the cash side is employed wliencash is paid for the book.- rIhey'shi'p'D is toyb'e detached from the book when. the latteris sold bythe agent, and such slip shouldbe resent instance 7forms iilled out bythe purchaser togobviate.diili-il culty which might subsequently ariseasto l signature.

The credit sect-ion of the slip, as

1n Fig. 1, COntvains 'printed matter 8 which indica-tes the location,date of sale, agent delivering thebook, the firm selling the goodsindicated, the'amoungt to be charged to the purchaser, the time when theaccount wis-to be paid and the signature and address of.- thepurcha'ser.The cash section of the slip when properly filled out sets forththelocation, date of sale, agent delivering the book, name of the sellingfirm, the yamount paid yby the customer andthe name and 'address of thelatter as 1indicated by the receipt shown at 1 upon the front insidelcover is filled out and signed by the issuing :party only after the bookhasbeen paid for. This may be at the time of sale, if the transaction isa cash one, or subsequently, ifthe book is so-ld on a credit basis. Theuse o-f this payment slip is exceedingly advantageous inasmuch as it`obviates the liability of disputes between the selling concernv and thecustomer as to the payment for the coupon' book. Many concerns employingcoupon books in the transaction of their business haveeXperienced-difiiculty in having agents deliver books with the receiptsignedby the purchaser which does not specifyv whether the latter paidcash or obtained the book on credit. The purchasers frequently claimthey paid the agent for the book at the time the latter was delivered,while theagent asserts that the book was obtained on credit. -Thus,owing to the inelicieney of the system or the lack of a proper record,the merchant is exceedingly liable to sulier loss through failure toobtain `proper payment for the book, or through vthe defection of thecustomer. By the use of this payment slip, however, a check is placed onboth the customer and the agent, for if the former pays cash for thebook, he will take care to seethat he signs the slip at the propersection to avoid having his^-account charged .with the cost of suchbook, while the agent, Aif he delivers the book on credit, will' takecare tohave the customer properly sign the slip inasmuch as such agentsarewcharged with the books inthe usual Way,- and when settling l theiraccounts at the end of the day must turn in either the payment slips orthe books Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will be seen upon theAinner face of the back covei` is printed a coupon 10, Which ispreferably of the smallest denomination used in the book, while printedmatter l1 exv planatory ofthe use of the same also appears. The couponand the printed instruc- ,tions form and combine a redemption or closingup lcard and must not be det-ached from each other. v' The entire card,however, is to be detached from the book by tearing at the scored orperforated line 12. This redemption card is not to -be used until allthe coupons in the book have been detached. The redemption card whenreceived at the merchants ofice is taken as payment .for the amountindicated on the face of the coupon 10. Willen this card is received atthe oiiice, it marksv the closing of the coupon book bearing thespecified number, vin the present instance, 199. The date of receivingthe redemption card must be stamped or written in the s ace 13, andafter necessary bookkeeping as been completed, should be filednumerically, thus constituting a permanent and accurate record of theclosing of the book. After the receipt of this card by the-merchant nomore coupons bearing this number should be received in payment forgoods. The advantages incident to the use of this redemption card whichforms as recited, a part of the book cover itself are manifold. Forinstance, it furnishes an easy method of the merchant supplying thecustomer with a new book through the agent or solicitor; it preventsaccounts being cont-inucd to persons whose credit does not warrant it;it is a sure reminder to quickly present a bill when it is desired tomake collection as soon as a book is-used.

By the use of my invention, the amount of clerk hire necessary to beemployed is materially reduced, and at the same time, the number ofdisputes, errors, and losses is very much lessened.

What I claim is;

A coupon book comprising front and back covers, a series of similarcoupons, and a payment sheet, all of said parts bearing the sameidentifying number, said coupons and sheet being provided with weakenedlines whereby each is readily detachable from said book, the insidefront cover having a receipt .form printed thereon, and said paymentsheet being lprovided with a line dividing the same into two sections,one of said sections having thereonprinted matter indicative of a credittransaction and the other of said sections having thereon print;- edmatter indicative of a cash transaction, each of said sections alsohaving a space for the name and address of the purchaser, whereby eitherthe credit or cash section may be filled out and signed in accordancewith the nature ofthe transaction, 'and the sheet detached by the`issuing party, the said receipt being'signed by said party only whenthe book is paid for, the back cover of the book being provided with a.weakei'ied ine whereby it is itsef detachable, and the lest of theseries of coupons being printed direetly thereon, Said cover carriedcoupon having characteristics distinguishing it from the othei1 coupons,whereby said coupon, when presented to the issuing party,

l serves to indicate to said party that the book is exhuused. le i Intestimony whereof I affix my signature l in presence of two Witnesses.

VILLIAM W'. SYFERT. Witnesses A. M. HASSLER, USHER CARSON

